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NGC Coalition,

Our city's rivers, streams, and the quality of our drinking water are under attack -- again. City Council appears ready to give in to the wishes of developers at the expense of our city's residents and protection of our watersheds. 

In June, after a four-year process, two City Council hearings, passage in City Council and the mayor's signature, developers hijacked a key sustainability feature of the new zoning code, the 50-foot setback requirement that prevents development at the water's edge. Real-estate developers appealed to City Council members Bill Green and Bobby Henon to remove the 50-foot buffer requirement, leave our rivers and streams unprotected, and allow development in the vulnerable land along our waterways. 

After preventing the buffers from taking effect with the rest of the new zoning code, Councilmember Green formed a working group to find a solution to the buffer issue this summer. The working group consisted of experts from the Water Department, several City Council members, the Planning Commission, developers, waterfront groups and Next Great City. In late August after several meetings, a consensus emerged: all of our city's waterways deserve 50-foot buffers. The only dissent among the diverse group was from Development Workshop, a lobbying arm of local developers. With broad agreement, Councilmember Green drafted legislation introduced on September 13 providing for 50-foot buffers on all waterways in Phadelphia. 

Then something changed.

Green's office now says that it is drafting amendments to the bill that would reduce by half the setbacks on streams and creeks from 50 to 25 feet -- ignoring the conclusions of its own working group. This flies in the face of science, good public policy and the Water Department's experts who say that buffers are most critical on our smaller, more vulnerable waterways. 

What changed between September 13 and today is anyone's guess -- and we are still trying to get to the bottom of it. The only group to raise concerns about the 50-foot buffers were developers. The Development Workshop was the singular voice against the 50-foot buffers in the working group. But our city's watersheds, the quality of our drinking water and residents anxious to reconnect with the waterfront could be the collateral damage. No amendments have been introduced yet -- they're still being drafted, according to Bill Green's office. We'll keep you up to date on any changes. In the meantime, be prepared to contact City Council if any amendments are proposed. 

Thanks,
Andrew Sharp
Philadelphia Outreach Coordinator

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